


Faulted

by spacedaydreamer



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kafei (for a bit of it), Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), but link and tatl are doing their best together, so it's not going the best, trying to deal with trauma and the anju and kafei quest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 12:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18739024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: Helping everyone could be tiring sometimes. It was stressful, ever stressful, and there was never lasting evidence for what he'd done for people. But still Link would never complain, even if the words people threw at him could hurt more than they'd ever know.





	Faulted

Link wasn’t sure how long it’d taken them to get to this point. He was waiting with Kafei, crouched behind a rock outside of Sakon’s hideout. They were going to infiltrate it, as soon as the man arrived- they were going to get the sun mask back, finally.

He’d met Anju the first time he’d arrived in Clock town, what felt like years ago. She’d been kind to him when he’d been stuck as a deku sprout, even if he’d hated how she’d spoken to him like he was just a clueless child. He resented how adults treated him, even if he was _used_ to it- but he never bothered trying to correct them. It simply wasn’t worth the effort. The only thing he hated more than being patronized was having them _worry_ over him, as if he couldn’t look after himself just fine.

Quickly, he’d found out that something was wrong. She was waiting for someone, a person who wasn’t showing up- it’d drawn his curiosity, but he’d needed to go to the swamp. Tatl had no patience for the people of Clock Town, and no patience for _him_. Link hadn’t seen a reason to delay, so he’d gone to the swamp.

It was after he’d managed to clear the temple in the swamp the first time and he’d been resting for a cycle in Clock Town that he met with Madame Aroma. She’d given him a mask, one that left an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Who would make a mask of their son’s face? Why not simply draw a picture?

“Why do you look so upset? You already wear that creepy deku mask all the time.”

Tatl hadn’t gotten it, or perhaps she had. Link didn’t really know. Maybe she’d had a point- why would he have an issue wearing this mask of Kafei, when he wore the deku scrub’s face? Still though, he found he couldn’t put the mask on. It was… unsettling.

It remained in his bag until after he’d cleared the snowhead temple and brought spring back to the mountain and the gorons. They’d been overjoyed that their hero Darmani had saved them… but it wasn’t Darmani. He was lying to them.

After that, he found it wasn’t as hard to stare at Kafei’s mask.

Turning back time once more, he’d spent the next rest cycle going up to people around town with the mask. Tatl didn’t seem to like having to talk to people for him, she would complain and tell him how much of a favor she was doing him, but she still helped. Link wondered why she would complain so much but help anyways, but he didn’t ask.

They’d gone to get their room key from the inn, and Link hadn’t realized he’d still been wearing the mask. The reaction was immediate though- Anju had told him that she had something important to tell him, and to meet that night.

That meeting became one of the things Link knew best in the cycle.

“Why doesn’t _she_ just go out and find him?!” Almost every time, Tatl would complain. “What’s her big deal- shoving all of this off onto a _kid?_ What kind of adult does she think she is? And seriously, what girl would keep caring about some jerk that ran off right before her _wedding?_   She needs some more self-respect, a guy like that is no good.”

Link would nod along, but he wasn’t really sure he understood much of it. He didn’t know what the significance of a wedding was, or even what it really meant to be engaged. He just knew that it was something people considered important, and that it was something that happened when you were good friends.

“And _you!_ You’re always so _eager_ to help out- why do you even _care?_ ” She didn’t give him time to respond- she knew that he didn’t talk much. Link didn’t like talking, and Tatl didn’t like waiting, so the two of them worked well together. “You’re such a pushover. Can’t you worry about this later? There’s a lot on our plates, y’know! Goddesses, she’s a selfish woman.”

Link just shook his head at that- he didn’t think Anju was selfish. She just didn’t know that he and Tatl were doing other things. Even if they told her, she wouldn’t believe them. They both knew it, because they’d seen that before.

It was after clearing the Great Bay temple that Link had first met Kafei. He didn’t really like the man much- not for how he acted, but for a similarity that made his skin crawl. A man, forced to become a child- a child, forced to become a man.

He’d attempted to sleep the night after meeting him, and only had nightmares. His skin was too tight, his body didn’t feel _right_ \- it was incorrect. _He_ was incorrect. He was supposed to be a child, to stay a child forever, but he’d _grown up_. The master sword weighed heavy in his hand, a burden and a curse that he’d never be able to escape. It was a fate that still waited for him, _someday he’d grow up again_.

Clock Town was nicer, then. He’d never grow up if he lived here forever.

He’d woken up screaming.

“Link? Link! Hey, get it together!” Tatl flew up in front of his face, waving her hands in some desperate attempt to get his attention. It worked, more or less- he still had a panicked look on his face, his entire body shaking, but his eyes focused on the fairy. “Breathe. Breathe, okay? You’re panicking right now. You’ve gotta breathe.”

He nodded weakly, following along with the fairy’s advice. Tatl wasn’t very gentle, she didn’t seem to ever hold back on her thoughts, but Link was fairly certain that she did care. She wasn’t like Navi, she didn’t have the same sort of warmth that made him feel safe and calm and happy, but he didn’t blame her for that. Nobody could be Navi.

“Good. Good. That’s good, okay? Keep doing that. You freaked me out.” After a couple moments, she flew up and landed on his head. She spent a short while walking back and forth on his head- something that was always a strange sensation, but for whatever reason it did help. It was something to remind him that this moment was real, and his body was right. “Let’s not do anything for the rest of this cycle. Okay? Just… rest. We can’t have you doing that when we go to Ikana.”

He’d nodded, and spent the rest of that cycle in the inn. He’d never managed to give Anju the pendant- just looking at it brought back the feelings of fear rising deep within his chest.

Any times he met with Kafei after that, he was sure to be wearing a mask.

After clearing the stone tower temple, Link didn’t really have any way to further put off meeting with Kafei, though. He’d worn the mask of truth that first time meeting with the man again, although he would’ve rathered not. He never made note of it, but it unsettled him- he felt like he could hear things, sometimes. Things that people tried to keep inside of their hearts… he shut it out the best he could. He didn’t want to know what people were thinking.

Later that cycle though, he’d gotten the Keaton mask. It reminded him of one in Hyrule, and aside from summoning those strange fox-like creatures it was completely powerless. That was preferable for him, so he found himself wearing it much more often.

It was nice, having something he could hide his face behind.

And now, a while after that, Link was here with Kafei. He hadn’t taken the Keaton mask off once, refusing to look Kafei in the eye. He’d instead kept his gaze focused off on the distance, Kafei almost completely out of his line of sight.

Sakon arrived eventually, and it was time to enter. Of course, the thief seemed ready for them- but Link would help Kafei get the mask back. Finally, he’d be able to help him and Anju both.

But the inside of the hideout was not something either of them had expected. There were switches on Kafei’s side, a lot of them seeming to continually speed up the conveyor that the mask was on. He wanted to shout at Kafei, to tell the man to stop hitting the wrong ones, but he had his own hands full. Deku baba and wolfos were inside the hideout as well, for some unknowable reason- just fending them off was enough to distract him.

**“ _The mask!_ ”**

He could hear Kafei shouting, but his own hands were more tied by the wolfos that was lunging at him. He didn’t notice when the mask was pulled away, somehow not even hearing Kafei’s voice until the wolfos was dead.

“No… this was… that was my only chance…”

The defeat in his voice tore Link’s heart to shreds, and he turned to look at the other. He wanted to say something, to apologize, to offer any sort of weak condolence- but his voice wouldn’t work. It never seemed to, not when it was important.

“You… _you!_ ”

It was only then that Kafei seemed to even remember Link was there, the boy suddenly feeling grateful for the track that split the hideout down the middle. The look in Kafei’s eyes was one of hate, something that didn’t seem to match up with his youthful appearance.

“This is _your_ fault, you little _freak!_ ” Still, Link didn’t respond. He’d heard worse before, he’d seen people stare at him before, he’d be fine. Even Tatl’d been far more rude to him when they’d first met. “If it weren’t for you, I’d have that mask!”

“Speak for yourself! You kept speeding up the conveyor!”

“Shut up, you stupid fairy!”

“Don’t tell _me_ to shut up! You’re just angry and taking it out on a kid! No _wonder_ the Skull Kid did that to you- you’re just a _brat!_ ”

Link shook his head at Tatl- he didn’t want her to yell at him. If he’d just been faster, then it wouldn’t have mattered that Kafei had sped up the conveyor. He should’ve been better prepared for all of this.

“You don’t understand what you’ve _done!_ You’ve _ruined_ me!” He continued to scream, jabbing a finger in Link’s direction. Tatl’s scolding only seemed to make him angrier, but Link didn’t flinch. “This is _all your fault!_ Now Anju’s going to die alone, thinking that I _hate_ her, just because some _worthless freak_ of a kid decided to stick his nose into things!”

“ _You’re_ the one who didn’t go see her when you had the chance! Don’t blame _him_ for _your_ mistakes!”

“You _know_ I couldn’t do that! I couldn’t face her without that mask!”

“That’s an _excuse_.”

“What could some stupid _child_ and his idiotic _fairy_ know about this?! These are _adult_ matters, anyways! And now none of it matters, because the goddess-damned moon is going to fall, and we’re all going to _die!_ ”

At that, Kafei turned and looked away. It seemed he was so angry he couldn’t even look at Link, but Link continued to be frozen in place.

“Come on, lets get out of here. Play the song of soaring and we’ll go back to Clock Town quickly, alright?”

Still he didn’t move, instead staring at the back of Kafei’s head. The words continued to swim in Link’s head- his fault. His fault. His fault. They’d die hurt and alone, and it was his fault.

“Link? Come on, Link. Play the song.”

The ground shook as the moon continued its steady death march towards the earth, but still he didn’t move.

“Link? _Link!_ Please- fine, you don’t have to soar! Just play the song of time then! _Please!_ ”

He’d felt the moon fall before. The thought of it happening again was terrifying, but his body still felt frozen in place. He couldn’t move, it was as if Kafei’s screams had the same effect as a redead’s. Like he’d been petrified, turned completely to stone and unable to move.

“ _Link!!_ ” Tatl flew right in front of his face, trying desperately to get his attention. She started hitting at his nose, just  _anything_ that might draw him back to the moment- that seemed to do it. He stared at her blankly, but at least he was looking at her. “The _song! Play it!_ ”

That was enough to finally get his hands to move, the song of time returning them both to the first day.

“Hey… Link, are you-“

He didn’t wait to listen to the rest of what Tatl was going to say, instead going to wait around outside of the inn until time would come for him to pick up the room key again. He’d long since figured out exactly how and when to get it, so it was easy to do. Tatl hadn’t said anything either- he’d expected her to yell at him, to complain about him ignoring her, but she was silent. Not that he really noticed.

Once they were in the room, he sat on the bed. He continued to sit there for a long time, until Tatl finally broke the silence.

“Hey, um… Link… are you… are you okay?”

His lip trembled, but he didn’t want to respond.

“If it’s from what Kafei said…you shouldn’t listen to him. He’s a complete jerk, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“My… my fault…” With those words, the dam broke. Link _hated_ crying, he hated showing so much weakness, but when things started to pile up too much then they’d only become unbearable. “A-All my— my fault—”

At first, Tatl didn’t seem to know how to react. Link wasn’t paying much attention to her, though- his mind kept fixating on other things, and he just couldn’t _stop_. There was too much, far too much for any one child on his own to deal with.

“Look, Link- you can’t listen to people like Kafei. It’s not your fault, he’s the one that kept messing up…”

But Link had messed up _first_ , in his eyes. What about all of the times where he hadn’t been there to help Kafei? What about the countless times where he’d only been able to watch, as the mask slipped from his grasp?

He’d told himself that things would be fine, that Kafei would _definitely_ show up for Anju, until the time he’d sat up there and waited with her.

And he’d never come.

Countless cycles where they couldn’t meet up, all because he hadn’t been there to help them. It was _absolutely_ his fault, just like so much else. All the times he’d made Anju wait in vain, hoping for a person who’d never arrive…

Horrible, so horrible. And all of it was his fault.

“Link, _listen_ to me!” Tatl flew right up into his face, jabbing one tiny finger at his nose. “It’s not your fault, okay? It’s not!”

“I-It… is…” His voice was rough and low, words fighting against his sobs to escape. “I… h-hurt… hurt them…”

Tatl didn’t seem to know how to respond to that. She stayed there a while, silent- Link didn’t think she had a retort, and he didn’t _want_ her to try and argue him. He didn’t think that there really was anything _to_ argue, either.

He’d hurt them. He’d hurt a lot of people, and just simply erased the hurt time and again. They’d never know about all of the mistakes he’d made, all of the times he’d let someone be hurt just because he needed to be somewhere _else_ instead… but he wouldn’t forget. He _couldn’t_ \- the wound on his psyche was too deep to just go away.

For all he’d insist that he was a hero, it was clear to him that he _wasn’t_. No hero would do what he’d done, no hero would’ve taken _so long_ just to save this place- he was just pretending to be one. It was no different from any of the other masks he wore, but this one felt so much more important. It was part of him, of who he was. If he wasn’t a hero, then he was _nothing_. The world needed a hero, not some lonely lost boy from the forest that nobody wanted.

“Link…”

Tatl’s voice was soft and hesitant, clearly unsure of herself in a way that was very unusual from the fairy. He wasn’t paying attention enough to notice the difference, though- he just continued to sob, repeatedly trying and failing to stop the tears from falling.

“Look, you… you’ve done your best, right?”

He wanted to scream at her- he wanted to shout and say that he _hadn’t_ , that he _hadn’t_ done his best, that if he’d done his best then they would’ve been _free_ of this hell _ages_ ago. But his voice refused to respond, this time perhaps for the better. He didn’t _want_ to be mad at Tatl- he just knew she didn’t understand. Nobody could understand him, and nobody tried to. Not anymore, at least.

“You tried your best, so… it’ll be okay.” Tatl rested one small hand against his cheek, the gesture gentle and reassuring and very different from how she usually acted. Tatl had never done something like this before, and Link wasn’t sure how to respond to it. “We’ll finish this soon. It’ll be over, and then we’ll be out of these loops. It’ll be okay, Link.”

Reassurance wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want her to tell him it would be okay, he didn’t want her to try to be calming and kind and gentle, because that was only making him cry harder. She was being nice at a time where he felt like he truly didn’t deserve it at all, the feeling just making it even harder to lock all his feeling away again.

More than anything, Link so truly _wanted_ to believe that everything would be okay. That things would work out for the better for him, and that perhaps things could return to normal. When even Tatl was trying to reassure him and ease his worry, it really made him want to _believe_ in it, no matter how stupid it sounded to believe in something so unrealistic.

Tatl continued to rub his cheek gently, occasionally helping wipe away a stray tear that fell in her direction. They just sat in silence for a long while, the tears eventually slowing and leaving Link with a stuffed up nose and a bit of a headache.

“How do you feel? Any… any better?”

Link nodded his head, enough of a confirmation for Tatl. She flew back away from him, turning to face away from him and instead staring off at a wall.

“Good. Look, um… You can… you can rely on me. I know I’m not your fairy, and I… I can’t replace her, but… we’re stuck in this together. I thought you’d already gotten that through your head.”

She wouldn’t see it, but he nodded again. At this point… in all honesty, it didn’t really _matter_ that Tatl wasn’t his fairy. He missed Navi, more than he could think to properly express, but Tatl was still nice. And even if she didn’t get him, and he didn’t get her, she did still try. He appreciated that she tried.

“Ugh, I’m not good at this! Look, just- just don’t think you’re alone! We’ve been in this together long enough already, you should know better.”

It seemed that Tatl wasn’t in the mood for any more emotional conversations- Link didn’t mind, though. He’d rather the conversation continue to move on, to something completely different. He was no good at those sorts of conversations either, preferring to hide anything he felt.

“So. What’re we gonna do next cycle?”

“Try again.”

“With Kafei? Are you sure you… don’t need any more time, or something?”

Link shook his head- he was fine now. Even if Kafei got mad again, Link had already heard it once now. The first time was always the worst, but you would get used to it. It wouldn’t be new anymore, and words like his only hurt when they were new.

“Well… alright, then. This time I’ll lead him around- I should be able to keep him out of the way of the wrong switches. Then you won’t need to worry as much.”

He nodded, the faintest bit of a smile showing on his face. If Tatl would do that, then things should be fine- he could trust her. They were partners. They’d managed to keep each other sane in this endlessly repeating trio of days.

He’d take the rest of this cycle to relax and calm himself, to prepare himself, and then they’d be ready to help Kafei and Anju properly in the next. And once they’d done that, they’d spend their time trying to figure out how to help as many people as they possibly could in one cycle, their _final_ cycle.

They’d be out of this soon. He’d just have to hold onto his hope, and hold onto his courage. Soon, this would be over.

**Author's Note:**

> Spent a good while working at this while I had the better part of a week with no wifi, I wanted to get a little more into how Link and Tatl treat each other this time. I like to think that it definitely took time, but eventually they did start to understand each other, even if neither of them entirely realized that fact. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I appreciate all the kudos and comments, they keep me motivated to keep writing!


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